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Hodad N. -- Denver, Colorado
Beginnings Colorado has more ghost towns than live towns today. Why Denver, Colorado became the latter instead of the former is just one of many interesting facts about its history. As Rose Kingsley wrote: “It was as if the angels were carrying a city to a proper place and accidentally dropped it here.”5 This comment has to do with the fact that Denver began as a town in the middle of practically nowhere with no obvious reason to be there, such as an easily accessible port. Furthermore, it is isolated by many miles of dry and treeless prairie.2 To understand the beginnings of Denver as it is known today, it is necessary to look back at 1858. During this time, Denver was only a small Indian village with a bountiful of game (namely, buffalo to the east and a variety of game and fish to the west). Around this date, a Georgian prospector by the name of Green Russell, who was married to a Cherokee Indian, came to the area and discovered small amounts of gold by Cherry Creek (where Denver is now located). Further gold discoveries at nearby Dry Creek (modern day Denver suburb of Englewood) and the spread of the news to the east coast drew many new immigrants hoping to get rich. Within a very short time the Gold Rush had transformed Denver from a small and tranquil Indian village to a booming mining town with dry goods stores, blacksmith shops, real estate agencies, doctors and lawyers.1 After the Gold Rush, silver was discovered, thus ensuring the continued growth of the city. The Sand Creek Massacre The Arapaho tribe, led by Chief Little Raven and Chief Left Hand had welcomed the “palefaces” or “the spider people” to share the land of Cherry Creek and South Platte River. His reward was the Sand Creek Massacre six years later. The led up to the massacre took a few years in the making. It started with the deterioration of relations between the Natives and the white settlers. The whites wanted the Arapaho to sign the Fort Wise Treaty of 1861 which would have expelled them from the areas that had brought about the Gold Rush. The Native interaction with the whites had resulted in much disease and alcoholism. The Natives started to lose their way of life as they lost their lands and were limited in their ability to find and hunt game. At times they would hunt cows and other private properties of whites. In 1864, the Hungate Massacre came to pass. The Hungates, the ranch managers at the Van Wormer ranch, had been scalped. The wife of Ward Hungate was raped and stabbed and their two daughters had their throats cut to the point of decapitation.3 The public display of the Hungates’ bodies was used as a recruiting tool in Denver. Colonel John M. Chivington led the hunt for the renegade Indians. He and his men eventually massacred over 160 Indians, mostly old men, women, and children, after having promised them protection. General William Larimer, Jr. A very important and interesting character in the early history of Denver was General William Larimer, Jr., the self-proclaimed founder of the city. It is said that Denver City (which eventually was renamed to simply Denver) was founded on the St. Charles Town Claim. Larimer persuaded a St. Charles Town Co. representative with a barrel of whiskey and a threat of a hanging to give up the claim to Denver City, to which the representative agreed.2,5 His log cabin which was built in 1858, was the town’s first. It was also the first to have a genuine glass window.1 He is said to have founded the “city” of Denver by crossing cottonwood sticks at the center of a square mile town plat on November 22, 1858.3 He then named the new city for James W. Denver, governor of Kansas Territory in hopes of ensuring that Denver would be chosen as the county seat of the Arapaho County, Kansas Territory. Unfortunately, James W. Denver was no longer the governor! Larimer was so optimistic of Denver’s potential that he wrote to his family: “It is well the Pilgrims landed upon Plymouth Rock and settled up that country before they saw this one or that would now remain unsettled. Everyone will soon be flocking to Denver for the most picturesque country in the world, with fine air, good water, and everything to make man happy and live to a good old age.”3 However, as a booster, Larimer soon lost his fascination with Denver. When Denverites failed to elect him to office as either mayor or territorial representative and when President Abraham Lincoln refused to appoint him territorial governor, he left and went back to Kansas. And so was the end of Larimer’s contribution to Denver.3 Railroads William N. Byers, yet another booster, bribed and fought to bring stagecoach service to the isolated town of Denver. He also made efforts to make Denver the steamboat capital of the Rockies.3 The steamboat capital idea was based more on the fact that people on the east coast did not know any better and had probably thought that Denver was set to be the next St. Louis.5 While these were all great efforts at bringing significance to Denver and its location, the one true necessity was to attract a railroad line through Denver. Unfortunately for Denver, the Union Pacific bypassed Colorado in favor of a transcontinental route through Cheyenne, Wyoming due to it being a cheaper and faster route to build through.2,3 Denver’s fate appeared to have been sealed as a failed city. Other rival cities proclaimed that “Denver would soon be too dead to bury.”3 But this was not the first time that Denverites had to deal with hardship. They raised funds and donated labor to build a railroad of their own, the Denver Pacific, that became linked to the Union Pacific’s Cheyenne line on June 24, 1870.2 Soon thereafter, the Kansas Pacific reached Denver, making the city a hub of railroads in all directions. Through the railroad, gold, minerals, and coal reached the town’s smelters. Immigrants from Europe were also able to come to the area ensuring the city’s growth. Modern Day Denver Through its ups and downs and its evolution into the city it is today, Denver has kept its nose to the grindstone. The city has diversified into light manufacturing, military facilities, aviation, energy, high-tech, and tourism industries.2 The current population is estimated at two million as of the year 2000. Denver expects a population of 2.8 million by the year 2020.3 Many of the new arrivals to Denver are from California. Texas, Illinois, New York, and Kansas also contribute heavy numbers of immigrants. Today, Denver is known as a city of sing family residences with a high rate of home ownership. Even the poorest citizens often have single-family detached homes that they own. It is also a city that boasts one of the highest per capita licensed motor vehicle ownership rates. This is mainly due to the fact that cars are a necessity to their way of life.3 Indeed, Denver has a bright future ahead of it, filled with potential that will allow many Americans to reach the American Dream! References 1) Cohen, Steve. Adventure Guide to Colorado. Edison, NJ: Hunter Publishing; 1997. 2) Gattuso, John, ed. Insight Guide Colorado. Long Island City, NY: Langenscheidt Publishers; 2008. 3) “History.” http://www.denvergov.org/AboutDenver/history.asp. Web. June 1, 2010. 4) Hudson, John C. Across This Land; A Regional Geography of the United States and Canada. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins Press; 2002. 5) Noel, Tom. “A Rough and Tumble Place.” http://www.denver.org/metro/history/early-denver-history. Web. June 2. 2010.